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The story of Iraq is one of resistance. In this groundbreaking study, Johan Franzen offers a contextual modern history of the country, its creation and its struggle for sovereignty. Iraq's contemporary history is a tale of a diverse people thrown together into a nation-state by imperialist statecraft. From the state's inception as a League of Nations mandate in the 1920s, through wars, coups and revolutions, Iraqis have always resisted foreign domination. But the country, propelled by the quest for power, intense national pride and a zeal for sovereignty, was catapulted along a trajectory of violence. On one side stood imperialism, seeking to control Iraq for its own ends. Facing it, Iraqis ...
Describes and analyses the major developments in Iraq from the US-led invasion until 2010. This title provides an important external, international dimension to Iraq's post-war development through discussion of the central role played by the Iranian regime and its deep and multi-faceted involvement in the Iraqi internal scene.
Innovation is key to military success, as Ahmed S. Hashim explains in his study of how Islamic State functions as a fighting, social media, and administrative entity.
This book argues that the Arab Spring brought to the forefront numerous societal, political, and historical problems in the Middle East that scholars and practitioners throughout the 20th century and into the 21st century have continually glossed over or reduced in their analysis and analytical frameworks when studying the Middle East. These include the prevalent and persistent impact of Islam on political life, an impact of transnational and subnational identities, including sect, tribe, and regional identity, as well as the overuse of the state as the fundamental unit of analysis when studying the region. As a result, this book asserts that primordial identities including religion, sect, and tribe have, and will continue to have, a significant impact on the conduct of politics in the Middle East.
This volume analyses the transformation of social sectarianism into political sectarianism across the Arab world. Using a framework of social theories and socio-historical analysis, the book distinguishes between ta'ifa, or 'sect', and modern ta'ifiyya, 'sectarianism', arguing that sectarianism itself produces 'imaginary sects'. It charts and explains the evolution of these phenomena and their development in Arab and Islamic history, as distinct from other concepts used to study religious groups within Western contexts. Bishara documents the role played by internal and external factors and rivalries among political elites in the formulation of sectarian identity, citing both historical and c...
Iraq today faces a whole gamut of problems associated with post-war recovery and state-rebuilding compounded by age old mistrust and suspicion. The situation in Iraq resembles a huge experiment in which social scientists can observe the consequences of actions taken across an entire country. Can Western ideas take route and flourish in non-western societies? Can constitutionalism take hold and work in a traditional religious and deeply divided society? Is Iraqi federalism a solution to the country’s severe disunity or a temporary fix? Iraqi Federalism and the Kurds: Learning to Live Together addresses these important questions and focuses on the role of federalism as a viable solution to Iraq's many problems and the efforts the Kurdish government has deployed to adjust to new federal relations that entail not only gains, but also concessions and compromises. The author's direct experience of living and working within this embattled country allows a unique reflection on the successes and failures of federalism and the positive developments the introduction of federal relationships have brought.
Contested City offers a history of state-society relations in Baghdad, exploring how city residents managed through periods of economic growth, sanctions, and war, from the oil boom of the 1950s through the withdrawal of US troops in 2011. Interactions between citizens and their rulers shaped the social fabric and political realities of the city. Notably, low-ranking Ba'th party officials functioned as crucial intermediaries, deciding how regime policies would be applied. Charting the social, economic, and political transformations of Iraq's capital city, Alissa Walter examines how national policies translated into action at the local, everyday level. With this book, Walter reveals how autho...
Kurdish Awakening examines key questions related to Kurdish nationalism and identity formation in Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Turkey. The world's largest stateless ethnic group, Kurds have steadily grown in importance as a political power in the Middle East, particularly in light of the "Arab Spring." As a result, Kurdish issues—political, cultural, and historical alike—have emerged as the subject of intense scholarly interest. This book provides fresh ways of understanding the historical and sociopolitical underpinnings of the ongoing Kurdish awakening and its already significant impact on the region. Rather than focusing on one state or angle, this anthology fills a gap in the literature on...
Investigating the transformation of the Kurdish liberation movement in Iraq this book explores its development from an armed guerrilla movement, engaged in a war for liberation with the government in Baghdad, into the government of a de facto Kurdish state known as the Kurdistan Regional Government. The book seeks to better explain the nature and evolution of the Kurdish liberation struggle in Iraq, which has had important implications over regional geopolitics. Despite attracting growing international attention, the struggle remains understudied. By applying the theoretical framework of de facto statehood to the post-1991 Kurdish liberation movement, the book offers a new approach to understanding the struggle, with a thorough empirical investigation informed by International Relations theory. Identifying international legitimacy, interaction and identity as significant themes in the politics of de facto states and important variables shaping the evolution and policies of these actors, at both the domestic and international levels, this book will be of interest to students and researchers of International Relations, Middle East Politics and Political Science.
How do the norms of the liberal international order affect the activity of Islamist movements? This book analyzes and assesses the extent to which Islamist groups, which have traditionally attempted to shield their communities from “alien” moral conceptions, have been affected by the rules and principles that regulate international society. Through an analysis of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Filippo Dionigi concludes that international norms are among the most significant factors changing Islamist politics. The result is a precarious but innovative equilibrium in which Islamists are forced to rethink idea of an allegedly “authentic” Islamic morality and the legitimacy of international norms.